TODAY'S TOURBUS TOPIC: DEALING WITH SPYWARE

Is your computer running slower than usual? Has your browser's start
page been hijacked? Having trouble reaching your favorite search
engine? Popups driving you crazy? Most likely your computer is
infested with spyware, the cockroaches of the digital age. Read on
to learn how to detect and remove these unwelcome pests.

Spy, Counter-spy

A recent audit of 4000 UK firms found the average office PC contains
20 pieces of spyware, including system monitors and trojan horses,
that could put confidential data at risk. And according to Webroot,
the company that performed the testing, consumers are even worse off,
with an average of 26 potentially malicious pieces of malware.

Start with a good anti-virus package such as Norton, McAfee, AVG or
EZ-Armor. But before you *buy* anything, check with your service
provider -- some of them are offering anti-virus software for free.
McAfee virus protection is now included with AOL membership, and Road
Runner offers their users the EZ-Armor package at no charge. If your
ISP isn't offering any freebies, check out the free AVG package from
Grisoft at [ http://free.grisoft.com/ ].

Next, make sure your operating system is regularly receiving security
fixes and updates. If you use Windows, click on Start->WindowsUpdate
to scan your system for critical fixes. Mac users can stay up to date
by clicking on Apple->Software Update.

Zzzzap!

Even with good anti-virus protection, system updates and careful
attention to those annoying "Do you want to run and install
such-and-such" popups, you can still get hit with spyware. Some
programs (most notably peer-to-peer file/music sharing) install
others surreptitiously. Toolbars, download helpers, screen savers
and email icon packages are often bearers of these nasty pests.
And if you have kids, just resign yourself to the onslaught.

My favorite spyware zapper is a free tool called X-RAYPC, which
examines all the processes running on your system and rates them as
Good, Bad or Unknown. (X-RAYPC was designed as a more functional
replacement for the popular HijackThis! system analyzer.) You can
kill the nasties and delete them with just a few clicks. I recommend
X-RAYPC only for more savvy PC users because it's a very powerful
tool and you could delete something important if you're not careful.
Check it out at [ http://www.x-raypc.com/ ].

For everyday users, the smartest people I know claim that there is no
single spyware detection and removal program that does the job. But
if you use both of these tools, you should catch most or all of them: